El Conclusion: San Antonio Spurs 113, Los Angeles Clippers 103

A near triple-double for the Big Fundamental. He was solid offensively and anchored the D without Tiago Splitter. Despite DeAndre Jordan’s 18 rebounds, the Spurs grabbed 10 more boards than the Clippers. Several days off seemed to do Duncan some good, as he looked fairly fresh on the floor.

To be quite honest, I enjoy the Blake Griffin-Boris Diaw matchup. They’re similar players in some respects, and complete opposites in others. Diaw hit some big shots down the stretch to keep San Antonio’s lead around 10 points and prevent any chance for a Clippers comeback.

I would classify this as a pretty good night for Icy Hot. Knocked down some 3s, his usage was probably a little higher than it should’ve been and he played solid defense on Chris Paul (1-for-10 on the night) for stretches.

Still D.R.E. Patty is doing one of two things this season. He’s either A) playing himself into a nice little extension with the Spurs for the next three to four years, or he’s B) playing himself into some middle of the road wildly overpaying for him for the next three to four years. Frankly, I’m giddy to see what happens this summer. For now, though, I’m enjoying the ride. I love watching this guy play.

Jeff McDonald pointed this out on Twitter recently, but it kind of sucks for Brown that his second 10-day contract fell on All-Star Weekend. He doesn’t have a lot of time to impress in order to secure a deal for the rest of the season. That said, maybe this was exactly the Spurs’ plan and he got some honest-to-goodness practice time with the coaches last weekend. We shall see what unfolds next when his deal is up in a few days.

A solid, in unspectacular, return to the Spurs lineup. I don’t know if you really want to see anything spectacular from Ginobili for the next two months anyway. I think you really just want him to play 20 minutes a night, work himself into a rhythm and not get hurt. He can save everything above and beyond that for late April and May.

One Thing We Saw

Well, the Spurs beat a good team, on the road, and without two of their three best players. Perhaps the narrative that the Spurs can’t beat the good teams can be put to rest for the rest of the season. It will be for good if they can steal a win in Portland on Wednesday night.

Spurholic

You might get your wish, Lamarcus “Spurslayer” Aldrige out for a week, the frontline is extremely thin with Both back up centres Myers Leonard and Joel Freeland out. A rare opportunity for the Spurs to eke out a win at the Rose Garden

Ali

“without two of their three best players” really???????

Were you watching the finals last year? for some reason Pop put the ball into Manu’s hand down the stretch. yes he had turnovers, but he was fouled at a lay-up attempt that could had won the game. He made shots to allow us hangout in the 4th qrt of game 7, and gave Green a wide open 3, and Duncan an easy lay-up to tie the game. shoot and he is not a top 3 player on this team.

I guess this makes Pop an official moron and @andrewMcNeill a genius.

http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

Do you really think Manu has been better than Kawhi this season? You have to take into account defense and rebounding as well.

http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

Yeah, but Mo “The Spursyhunter” Williams is still there. Waiting.

Danny Guajardo

Manu has been better than Kawhi this season. He was taking over games and the runaway 6th MOY before he got injured

Joseph Dooley

No grade for Pop?

http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

Nah, I didn’t really have anything that stuck out with regards to Pop’s night. Feel free to share your thoughts, though.

Joseph Dooley

Win or lose, resting Tony at this point in the season is a master stroke. He was clearly gassed in the latter games of last year’s Finals. Of all the Spurs, he’s our most important player to suffer from fatigue down the stretch.

I am just getting my blog off of the ground and would love to get input from any of you guys. Thanks a lot.

Ali

That and more. He bring more intangibles, his energy (the game on X-mas he kept us in it), being clutch (game-winner against memphis), toughness ( Defense against Durant), and setting-up easy baskets for everyone not named parker.